


out of almost 300 boys, of course Derek Hale is The One

by tryslora



Series: 12 Days of Tropemas 2018 [8]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: 12DaysOfTropemas, Alternate Universe - High School, Bisexual Derek Hale, Bisexual Stiles Stilinski, Derek Hale is a nice person, First Kiss, Holding Hands, Ice Skating, M/M, Minor Allison Argent/Scott McCall, Minor Lydia Martin/Jackson Whittemore, Paige is Stiles Stilinski's Cousin, Past Derek Hale/Paige
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-09-30 17:33:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17228318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tryslora/pseuds/tryslora
Summary: In which Paige learns of her cousin’s crush on her ex, says “just trust me,” and God help him, Stiles does.





	out of almost 300 boys, of course Derek Hale is The One

**Author's Note:**

  * For [froggydarren](https://archiveofourown.org/users/froggydarren/gifts).



> This was written for Day 7 of Tropemas and the prompt of Period or HS AU. I had to give in to my headcanon of Paige as Stiles's cousin and run with it.

“How old do you think we have to be before we get to stop sitting at the kids’ table?” Paige kicks her feet, while Stiles chooses instead to keep his stool swaying back and forth.

“Until your parents get a bigger table, or we stop having Christmas Eve dinners together.” Stiles glances over his shoulder at the table where his father, his aunt, two uncles, and his grandmother all sit. “We could bring in a folding chair and probably all fit at the main table.”

“You’re just nosy, Mieczyslaw,” his grandmother says quietly. “There are times when the adults wish to talk.”

“Uncle Aaron is talking about gardening; it’s not going to damage my delicate teenage sensibilities,” Stiles calls back. “I might even have a few ideas to offer.”

“If you’d like to join us, I would love to hear about your girlfriends,” she replies, her smile devilish. “Or boyfriends.”

Stiles does not regret coming out to his grandmother. Not at all. Even though she is more than open-minded and seems happy to try to set him up with boys and girls now. He suspects he’s just given her more ammunition and she loves it.

Paige snickers.

“Shut up,” Stiles mutters, saying more loudly, “Never mind, we’re fine right here.”

“So.” Paige leans her elbows on the countertop—it’s more bar than kids’ table, and with Paige’s older brother not there, it’s just the two of them. “Tell me who it is.”

“Who… what?” Stiles flounders. “It’s no one. Absolutely no one.”

Paige snickers again. “Wrong. When you have nothing to hide, you can bullshit. When you’re trying not to say something, you flail around and end up looking ridiculous. Which means, you have not just a crush on someone, but an absolutely epic crush, and it’s not Lydia Martin.”

“She is the light of my life,” Stiles protests.

Paige points at him. “And that makes my point. You don’t stutter. You don’t blush. It’s all just so matter-of-fact and it’s safe. Everyone’s known about your thing for Lydia since third grade. It isn’t actually a thing anymore at all. The two of you are partners in AP Chem and more than that, I’ve heard her talking about how it was her idea because you are the least idiotic of anyone else in the class. You two are almost friends, which is kind of frightening. So.” She leans her elbows on the counter. “Spill. Who is it?”

“He’s straight,” Stiles says, and that’s entirely the wrong thing from the way Paige’s entire expression lights up.

“It’s a guy. Okay. That eliminates approximately slightly more than half the school,” Paige muses. “I’m guessing it’s not a freshman or sophomore, although I suppose you could be interested in someone younger than you. But I’m not counting them for now. That leaves one hundred and thirty-two boys in your year, and one hundred and fifty-nine in mine.”

Almost three hundred people. Stiles tries to relax, because there is no way that Paige will figure it out.

Even if she might actually know him better than any of his friends. Even better than Scott.

“Look, it doesn’t matter,” Stiles says, trying to slow her attempts at figuring it out.

She tilts her head, raises her eyebrows. “Lie,” she says. “You think he’s straight, therefore he’s probably not part of the arts or music department, because you’d give those guys the benefit of the doubt. Definitely not part of the GSA, and actually….” She draws the word out slowly, watching Stiles. “He’s a jock. Because despite the fact that there are at least three out jocks that I can name, Beacon Hills tends to be a bastion of straight masculinity where athletics is concerned. Ethan gets a pass because of Aidan, everyone loves Danny, and Brett’s so damned pretty that no one actually cares.”

Stiles doesn’t even think the name. “Pie,” he declares loudly. “I want pie.”

“It’s not time for pie,” his father chastises from the dining room table. “Some of us are still eating dinner.”

Paige points at his seat. “Don’t move, we’re not done here. You have a thing for strong personalities, and you love the unattainable. You’re really turned on by incredibly hot people, and also absolutely turned off by assholes. Which….” She starts silently ticking through options on her fingers, and when she stops with a smile, Stiles feels like his heart stops.

“Derek Hale,” Paige declares. “You’ve got a thing for my ex-boyfriend.”

Well. Shit.

Paige leans in close. “This is your lucky day, Stiles.”

“And why is that?” Stiles mutters. “Because I’m thinking this means you’re going to spend the entirety of winter break reminding me that I have a crush on your ex.”

She shakes her head. “Would I do that? Don’t answer that.” She holds up a finger. “No, I mean something else entirely. Danny texted me to tell me that Lydia set up a skating party on Wednesday, and I think I need a ride. Which you will give me in that terrifying Jeep of yours, because it just so happens that Derek will be there.”

“Doesn’t change anything.”

Paige smiles like she has a secret, and that worries Stiles more than anything. “Oh, I know. Just plan on skating, Stiles. And trust me.”

#

Maybe it won’t be such a bad day. His cousin roped him into this—and Stiles still doesn’t trust Paige because he knows she’s up to something—but it turns out that Scott needs a ride, too. Somehow Allison, despite being one of the pretty people and BFFs with Lydia Martin, seems to like Scott. Which means that he also has an invitation to this exclusively top tier skating party.

“You’ll like Allison,” Scott says as he yanks on the strings of his skates. “She’s sweet. And nice. And she could probably break you in two; I saw her making a fool of Liam in the weight room. She does archery so her arms have to be really strong to handle the pull of the bow.”

Stiles can’t deny that that’s attractive. Paige is right—he does kind of have a thing for stupidly attractive strong people. But not Allison, thank God, since Scott’s turned into a ridiculous fool for her.

No. His stupid heart has to fixate on Derek Hale. Senior. Salutatorian (behind Paige, of course). Star basketball player. So incredibly popular and hot that he dated a senior girl during his freshman year. And he’s _nice_. He works with the elderly, volunteers at the local wildlife sanctuary, and every year personally organizes an auction to benefit the local food pantry for the holidays.

Unattainable is definitely the word for it.

Stiles viciously yanks on the laces of his skates, not caring if they cut his circulation off. Might help, actually. He’s going to fall on his ass the second he sets blade to ice.

“There’s Allison!” Scott stands up, wobbling as he waves his hand. “I’m going to just—is that okay?”

Stiles waves him off. “Yeah, go. Paige is already out there. I’m just going to psyche myself up a bit and then I’ll be on the ice.”

Literally. Sitting on it probably.

“Stiles!” Paige is at the gate and—oh fuck. She gestures, Derek’s hand at the small of her back to keep her from falling over from the motion. “Come here!”

“You just want to see me make a fool of myself, cousin,” Stiles calls back. But he does as she asks, pushing to his feet and taking careful steps towards the ice. He can see where Scott is already out and moving, somehow managing to stay upright as he holds Allison’s hand. At least that’s going well.

Stiles gets to the gate and holds onto the walls on both sides, not yet stepping out onto the ice. Paige looks up at him, makes a grab for his hand.

“Come on out,” she orders, the corners of her eyes crinkling with glee. “I have something for you.”

Stiles eyes Derek warily. “And what is that?”

“Me.” Derek makes a face, flushes at the statement. His mouth is slightly open, his front teeth peeking out and it makes him look like a fierce scruffy bunny.

Stiles licks his lips and forces himself to keep eye contact and not think about anything that could cause embarrassment right now. Which is hard. Really, really hard.

Derek’s gaze flicks down, then back up, while Paige grins. “Paige told me you might need some help skating,” Derek says quietly. “I offered to help.”

Stiles’s gaze narrows as he looks at Paige. “You… offered.”

She pats his chest and ducks under his arm, skating backwards so that she no longer stands between them. “Yes, he most certainly did. And now I am going to go find Brett, because there is nothing more fun than teasing him about his futile crush on Liam.” She waves as she skates away and leaves Stiles standing there. Alone. With Derek Hale.

“So….” Derek trails off, and holds out his hand instead of finishing the sentence.

It takes Stiles a moment to realize that he’s saying to take it. To hold hands on the ice. While skating.

He carefully takes Derek’s hand, lets himself be pulled onto the ice. It’s the first time he’s stood this close to him, and he realizes that they’re the same height. Stiles is narrower. Rangier. But Derek’s breadth makes him seem to loom larger than he is.

Derek takes an easy step, gliding along the ice, and Stiles does his best to go with him.

Derek smiles slightly; it crinkles the corners of his eyes and Stiles swears his heart skips a beat at the sight. “You really don’t know how to skate, do you?”

“Given how bad I am at just managing to stay upright on dry land, most people don’t tend to want me to strap blades to my feet,” Stiles quips. “Paige is an exception, but she may just be hoping that I make an idiot of myself. We have a great cousinly relationship like that.”

“Mm.” Derek spins, and somehow they are skating next to each other, with Derek holding one hand behind Stiles’s back, resting on his hip, and the other stretched across to hold his near hand. It can’t be comfortable for Derek, but it certainly helps Stiles stay more stable.

As long as he focuses on just going forward, it seems to work.

And it’s nice. It’s warm and comfortable, and strangely… almost romantic. Stiles spots several other couples skating—actual couples like Lydia and Jackson, new couples like Scott and Allison, and of course, Paige teasing Brett.

None of them are skating as closely as Derek is to Stiles.

His body heats at the thought of it.

“So….” Stiles says, drawing the word out and hoping that Derek thinks the flush on his cheeks is from the cold. “How did Paige manage to convince you to do this? Does she have something on you?”

Derek coughs. “Actually, I really did volunteer.”

Stiles’s gaze narrows. “But she does have something on you.”

“Yes,” Derek admits. “We’re still good friends, have been since we broke up. So she knows a lot of things about me that not many other people know yet. But that’s not why I offered to help you learn how to skate. Or it is, but it’s not because I’m afraid of her outing me.”

Stiles’s brain skips across the words. Yet. Outing him. “Wait.”

Derek’s skates slow, and Stiles trips over nothing on the ice. Derek spins and ends up holding him up, chest to chest, Derek’s arms wrapped around Stiles as they stand there in the way of everyone going by. Derek’s grip tightens, then eases as Stiles gains his footing. “Careful,” Derek says.

Stiles is absolutely aware of everyone skating by. Not just that they’re all too close and he can’t think of a way to move out of the line of traffic, but also that everyone can see them. That everyone is probably looking at them right now.

“Why, exactly, did you say you’d help me?” Stiles tries to keep his voice under control, but he’s pretty sure it’s a bit too high pitched, anxiety squeezing his throats.

The tips of Derek’s ears go pink and Stiles thinks that is fucking adorable. His gaze drops, and they both waver which means Derek has to hold on even more tightly and Stiles is okay with that.

“ _BecausePaigeknowsIhaveacrushonyou_ ,” Derek mumbles.

Stiles isn’t even moving and he still manages to trip over nothing, falling forward. Derek glides backwards, taking Stiles with him out of the path of oncoming skaters as Stiles clings to his shoulders.

“What?” Stiles asks. “Because I could swear that you—straight, basketball star you—just mumbled that the big secret my cousin knows about you is that you have a crush on me—geeky, scrawny, nerdy me.”

Derek smiles slightly. “I have my arms around you right now and I don’t think you’re scrawny. When you’re hanging like this and we’re on ice, you might even be a little heavy.”

“That’s not what I meant!” Stiles protests. “Are you seriously telling me that you have a crush on me? That you’re not straight?”

Curious gazes flick towards them, and out of the corner of his eye, Stiles sees Paige circle back like she’s trying to listen in. When Brett won’t turn with her, she gives him a shove and sends him to crash into Liam and Hayden, who have to grab onto him and skate as a triad instead of a duo, or else fall over.

Stiles’s cousin is smart. Maybe too smart.

When Stiles looks back at Derek, he realizes that Derek is staring at him. Staring at him in the kind of way that Stiles has had vivid daydreams about, and vivid very detailed other dreams about. Stiles licks his lips, and Derek follows the motion, watching carefully.

“Yes,” Derek says. “Not straight. Crush on you. Paige has known both of those things for a very long time.”

A long time. Damn it!

“I’m going to kill her,” Stiles mutters. “I could’ve been dating you for how long and she didn’t think to tell me?”

Derek huffs a low laugh. “Actually, her first words when I told her were that you’re out of my league.”

Stiles’s anger melts into a grin. “Paige Krasikeva you are a horrible scheming brat and I love you!” he yells out.

“You’re welcome!” she yells back, blowing a kiss before finally skating away.

Derek carefully raises one hand to touch Stiles’s cheek, and oh. Oh. Yes. That look is back, the one that says Derek is going to maybe, possibly—

Stiles’s feet slide and he grabs onto Derek and Stiles can’t manage to stop anything from happening now. The ice wins, and Stiles is on his ass in the center section, people whizzing by him as Derek stretches out over him.

“Sorry,” Stiles says.

“It’s okay,” Derek tells him, and he finishes closing the distance and kisses him.

Stiles’s ass is cold. He’s lying on the ice after falling in front of everyone. He’s pretty sure he’ll be a topic of conversation for the next week at school.

He doesn’t care.

He reaches for Derek before he can pull away and grips his jacket, kissing him thoroughly in return.

A shower of ice from blades stopping not far from them slithers down the back of Stiles’s neck. “Get off my ice,” Lydia says. When Stiles breaks the kiss to glance up, Lydia is smiling despite Jackson’s scowl as he stands behind her. She flicks her fingers toward the walls. “Go,” she says. “This is a skating party, not a making out on the ice party. So get off my ice before you freeze your dick off, because I am not calling the EMTs for your stupidity.” She turns, skirt flipping with the motion as she skates away.

“The rumors are true. You’re friends with Lydia Martin now,” Derek muses.

It takes work to get them both to standing, but they manage it without falling all over again. Derek wraps an arm around Stiles and carefully guides him through the skaters to get to the side.

Stiles is relieved to be on solid ground again, even if his skates still wobble under his feet. “I’m friends with the queen bee, and I’m dating a basketball star.” Stiles bats his eyes, grinning when Derek laughs. “The social strata is crumbling. It’s armageddon.”

Derek wraps his arms around him and kisses him thoroughly. “The social strata is overrated,” he murmurs. “This is worth it.”

Yeah. Yeah it is. Stiles will have to thank Paige later, after he kills her for keeping her mouth shut for so long. “This is definitely worth it,” Stiles whispers, because kissing Derek is something he’s happy to do all day long.


End file.
